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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29359896">red strings</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmberRunnel/pseuds/AmberRunnel'>AmberRunnel</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>darker days of the dream smp [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Dream uses Tommy to send a message, Gen, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Manipulation, Mild horror/unsettling themes, Protective Older Sibling Wilbur Soot, Villain Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur's still a bit crazy though, this is the type of story you read at 2am</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 04:14:12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>833</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29359896</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmberRunnel/pseuds/AmberRunnel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Following his escape from Pandora's Vault, Dream captures Tommy for the sole purpose of sending a message.<br/>Wilbur is the first to find that message, buried deep beneath the ground in the cold and half-light of the cavern where Tommy is kept.<br/>_ </p><p>Wilbur looked over the sheer number of people that had followed them to track down Tommy, all geared for a fight. Capturing Tommy had been a risky play—had Dream just vanished after escaping Pandora's vault, he might only have Technoblade and Sapnap hunting him instead of accidentally unifying the entire server in their unwillingness to let a sixteen-year-old be abused.<br/>But Wilbur knew Dream—he wouldn’t have taken the risk without an ulterior motive, and the man had a love for theatrics just as much as Wilbur did. He had an audience now—what kind of message he’d use Tommy to send, they’d find out soon enough.<br/>_</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Clay | Dream &amp; TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot &amp; TommyInnit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>darker days of the dream smp [7]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2039249</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>269</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>red strings</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dream, ever the coward, had run.</p><p>Wilbur thanked the heavens he’d been smart enough to leave Tommy behind, a walking beacon for the compass he’d made Tubbo. They were following that compass now, trekking through the mountains as the needle remained dead on point.</p><p>Wilbur could only hope they’d find Tommy alive. He’d only been in Dream’s possession for two days at most, but two days was well enough time for Dream to… </p><p>Wilbur didn’t want to think about it.</p><p>Deep down, though, he knew Tommy had likely relapsed back into his old self-destructive, self-deprecating habits. It’d taken months for Wilbur to piece his little brother together after what Dream had done to him in exile, and he was fully prepared to see all his progress undone in one fell swoop.</p><p>It didn’t matter. He’d just fix Tommy again, and again, until the kid could live a life he deserved. One where he didn’t drown himself every time he made a rude comment, one where he didn’t expect to get beaten for every little mistake, one where he didn’t wake up gasping from nightmares, crying out for the person that had abused him.</p><p>Wilbur would never forget their few late-night conversations, where exhaustion muffled Tommy’s inhibitions and he was open about what was going on with him.</p><p>“I want to go back sometimes,” Tommy had muttered into Wilbur’s shoulder once. Wilbur might have stroked his hair soothingly had Dream not liked doing it too. The crazy, sadistic fragment of Wilbur that survived his death understood that— after all, there was something irresistible about seeing someone like Tommy vulnerable, and they both took advantage of it in their own ways.  </p><p>“To Dream?” Wilbur asked, heart sinking. Tommy had nodded, holding his discs close to his chest. </p><p>As the compass’s needle turned around on itself, Wilbur prayed it had made things a little easier for Tommy when Dream had escaped prison and captured him again.</p><p><em> Quite a miscalculation on his part, I have to say, </em>Wilbur thought to himself, looking over the sheer number of people that had followed them to track down Tommy, all geared for a fight. Had Dream just vanished, he might only have Technoblade and Sapnap hunting him instead of accidentally unifying the entire server in their unwillingness to let a sixteen-year-old be abused.</p><p>But Wilbur knew Dream—he wouldn’t have taken the risk without an ulterior motive, and the man had a tendency for theatrics just as much as Wilbur did. He had an audience now—what kind of message he’d use Tommy to send, they’d find out soon enough.</p><p>The dozen or so of them that had come along to find Tommy split up, searching for the entrance to the base. The compass’s needle swung in a circle as Tubbo stood still, which meant Tommy was directly underneath him. </p><p>Wilbur watched Tubbo place his hands on the ground, as if wishing he could just pull the earth away. Wilbur put a ghostly hand on his shoulder. “We’ll find him,” he promised.</p><p>Tubbo nodded as an outcry sounded from behind them. Techno had found the entrance, a lever-activated piston door that opened a well lit tunnel. He led the way, sword and torch in hand, prepared for a fight that would never come as the flickering shadows followed them deeper into the ground.</p><p>The dark, repetitive corridors of Dream's base dissolved into darkness, and they had no choice but to split up to cover more ground. The cold prickled Wilbur's skin as he walked in the stillness, and it wasn't long before the footsteps and calls of the other faded away. </p><p>Dream had left a message, alright, and Wilbur was the first to find it in a dimly lit cavern among the winding, repetitive corridors of Dream’s base. A single lantern lay lit on the floor, casting the room in a beautiful half-light. </p><p>Tommy, drugged and half conscious, was hanging perfectly still from the ceiling, dangled like a marionette by little red strings. There were dozens of them, tied around his wrists, shoulders, ankles neck, keeping him suspended motionless in the air.  Immobilized as he was, his face was frozen in a peaceful look, dazed eyes dull in the half-light and breathing rattled. </p><p>Wilbur approached him silently, running his hand over the taunt string attached to Tommy’s wrist. Dream hadn’t left a single mark on him. In fact, had Tommy not been drugged into a lull, he would’ve been perfectly healthy. Wilbur could almost hear Dream’s voice: <em> nobody wants a broken puppet. </em></p><p>“Oh, Tommy,” he whispered, reaching forward to brush a strand of hair out of his brother’s face. Tommy’s eyes opened ever so slightly, but they were entirely empty when they met Wilbur’s gaze.</p><p>The longer Wilbur stayed there, looking at him, the more he knew some broken part of him hadn’t recovered from his madness. That echo of him saw Tommy hanging there, perfect and untouched with his dull eyes and red strings, and found it mesmerizingly beautiful.</p>
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